Facebook groups have gained tremendous popularity over the last few years. There are groups for just about every topic you can think of and there are a ton of groups designed to help and support entrepreneurs.

You should be considering Facebook Groups as part of your strategy from two perspectives:

How can you attract customers from a group you lead?

How can you leverage someone else’s group to attract customers?

Before we dive deep into both of these options, there is one thing that you need to know:

Facebook groups are a LOT of work to build, manage and maintain. If you build your own, you need to be prepared to dedicate the time it takes to support the group as a leader. If you’re in someone else’s group, you need to respect the work they are doing to build their community. They didn’t create their group for you to waltz in and pitch your products and services all over the place. People who do that show a lack of judgment and professionalism.

Do this to attract customers inside of Facebook Groups:

Show up daily and manage your own group effectively by sharing great content, reviewing member requests and deleting spam. If you struggle to post daily, use a service like Meet Edgar. That was you can schedule daily content to keep your members interested and engaged.

Show up and contribute in other people’s groups on a regular basis. If someone asks a question and you know the answer, comment and share what you know! Be visible and helpful and abide by the group rules.

Ensure your Facebook profile is set up so people can check you out. That means they should be able to view your about section, link to your website and/or your Facebook page. If you’re offering support in groups but your profile is locked up and people can’t see what you do, they will struggle to see how you can help them.

Use the search function inside of groups to find keywords and conversations you want to be part of. The best way to attract customers to you is to find conversations where you can add value and become a known and trusted resource inside of the community.

If you have a group that people have paid to be part of via a program you’ve sold (like I do with The Pilot Project) make the experience inside of this group stellar so that your members rave about your community to others. Believe it or not, people buy programs to be part of amazing communities.

Leverage live stream and webinars inside of your Facebook group when you are promoting a product or service. (Zoom makes it really easy to host a webinar in your group) This makes is super easy for members to see what you’re up to. You can even give members a special offer just because they are part of your group.

Don’t do this in other people’s Facebook Groups.

Don’t pitch your stuff in someone else’s group unless there is a promotional thread where you are being invited to share. When you pitch your stuff inside of someone else’s group, that’s like showing up at McDonalds and trying to sell a Wendy’s burger inside of their restaurant. It’s bad etiquette.

Don’t share your latest blog like clockwork each week in every group you’re part of unless it is YOUR group. When you share your blog in multiple groups, it looks like you are spamming all the groups with the content you’ve created.

Don’t preface “what you do” in every comment you make. You can reply without saying “I’m a business coach and I would advise you to to this….”

Don’t ask for “feedback” to trick people into going to your website. Everyone knows what you’re up to including the owner of the group.

Don’t cross the line without asking for permission. Ask the administrator of the group if you’re unsure of whether or not what you are posting is cool or not.

People buy from people, not from Facebook posts.

Show up and get to know people. See how you can help them while also maintaining a boundary around what you do for free versus what you charge for and you’ll attract customers easily.

If you’re looking for a group where I spend a lot of time, and you want to build your business, check out The Pilot Project’s Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/ThePilotProject/. Although you can only be part of the group when you buy the program – you can see who the members are inside this group right now and ask them how they like it.

What is your favorite thing about being in a Facebook Community? Do you utilize groups as frequently as you should be? Leave a comment and let me know!

4 Comments

Ray Dohnt

I don’t have my own group but 3 other local businesses and myself created a shop local page for our town. We post our own posts and ads as well as sharing other local businesses and activities on the page. Not sure what angle to use for a group of my own though. Any suggestions?

This article has great suggestions Lisa! I limit the number of groups I belong to so that I can optimize my time. The top two groups are where my target market is and they also service my target market, therefore I get valuable insight into improving my services. The other groups help me build my knowledge to improve my business and I use that to help my clients do the same. Without being in the right groups this would not be possible!

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